Cinemablogapher – Giants at Cowboys Week 14

This week, the TCIPF crew asked me to do things a little differently. I asked to break down several shots that incorporated the same technique: movement.

PVC pipe camera dolly used for "tracking" shots, with camera mounted on top.

Over the past 15 weeks, I’ve brought a portable dolly to all of my games. It’s a simple tool that creates dynamic movement. For me, the “reveal” is the most important result of these small, cinematic moves. Whether the move is revealing stadiums, players on field, inanimate objects, or fans, this makes for a much more appealing shot and heightens the production value.

Previously, if a project deamed it necessary to have shots of this stature, a cinematographer would need an entire crew to accomplish this. With this small and easy dolly I have found it easier to complete difficult and time consuming moves within a matter of minutes.

NFL Films camera sitting in the end zone on the dolly track.

This past week, I used my camera of choice: the Aaton XTR-Prod. Most of these shots were with a Canon 7-63mm or 11-165mm lens. I primarily shoot as wide open as possible, at f2.8 or f4.0. The film stock I selected was 7213 and 7201. I prefer 7201 because of its grain structure, but will use the 7213 because of its latitude.

Aaton XTR-Prod

Overall, I believe the movement within the shots, lens selection, and film stock worked well. I hope to use this technique during during the rest of the season. What do you think? You can watch a handful of my resulting shots below.

Yesterday, I shot the New England Patriots at Denver Broncos game. Check back here at TCIPF for the cinemablogapher break down later this week!